ai4bharat/Pralekha huggingface dataset:
Ministry of Defence
NCC cadets start serving people during COVID-19 pandemic under Exercise NCC Yogdan
Civil and police administration have started requisitioning for services of senior division National Cadet Corps  cadets in fight against Coronavirus  pandemic. Some of them have started giving service from today. Ministry of Defence  had allowed temporary employment of NCC cadets last week under ‘Exercise NCC Yogdan’ and guidelines were also issued in this regard. These cadets will give a helping hand to state and municipal authorities to augment relief efforts.
Union Territory of Ladakh has requisitioned for employment of eight cadets in supply chain management. Neemuch Superintendent of Police has requested Madhya Pradesh & Chhattisgarh Directorate for services of 245 cadets in supply chain and traffic management. Sixty four senior division cadets including seven women have already been employed. Collector of Bilaspur has requested for service of NCC volunteer cadets for training in COVID-19 preventive measures. These cadets are being imparted training for the job ahead.
Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Chandigarh  Directorate has received requisition by Deputy Commissioner of Kangra district in HP for services of 86 cadets till April 14, 2020 to assist Police in ensuring social distancing in the city localities.
District Police of Kancheepuram in Tamil Nadu  has approached district nodal officer on COVID-19 for services of NCC cadets. Fifty seven cadets including two women have assembled and are being employed. In all, TN, Puducherry & Andaman Nicobar Directorate has provided services of 75 cadets in Tamil Nadu and 57 in Puducherry.
Balrampur district administration in Uttar Pradesh has also asked for services of volunteer cadets from NCC Group Headquarters Gorakhpur. Some cadets are being employed for the purpose.
Eighty cadets in East Khasi Hills district are assisting the Meghalaya Police in monitoring of ration distribution and sensitisation between April 06-08, 2020.
The types of tasks envisaged for cadets include manning of helpline/call centres; distribution of relief materials, medicines, food/essential commodities; community assistance; data management and queue & traffic management and manning of CCTV control rooms.
According to the employment guidelines, state governments/district administration has to send the requisition of employment of volunteer cadets through State NCC Directorates. Details will be coordinated at Directorate/Group Headquarters/Unit level with state government/local civil authority. It should be ensured that ground conditions and laid down requirements are met before the cadets are deployed for the duty.
ABB/SS/Nampi/KA/DK/Savvy/ADA
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Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution
7 crore people of Maharashtra get free foodgrains under Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana during May-June 2021
Food Corporation of India holds adequate stock to ensure uninterrupted supply till November
Mumbai | July 5, 2021
Nearly 7 crore people of Maharashtra and 5.32 lakh people of Goa have benefitted by the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana  during the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic during May- June 2021.
Food Corporation of India  has been at the forefront of implementing the PMGKAY scheme and has already positioned adequate stock of foodgrains in all states and union territories.
Briefing media persons in Mumbai today, Ms. K P Asha, General Manager, FCI, Maharashtra said 3.68 lakh metric tonnes of wheat and 2.57 lakh metric tonnes of rice have been distributed during May – June 2021. Under the scheme, 7 lakh metric tonnes of foodgrains had been allocated for Maharashtra for the two-month period.
Shri R. P. Singh, Executive Director, West Zone, FCI said “the Government has now extended the scheme for another five months, and the Food Corporation of India has maintained sufficient availability of foodgrains to meet the requirement. It already has 11.02 Lakh Metric Tonnes of Wheat and 6.65 Lakh Metric Tonnes of rice in stock, which has been further supplemented by 2 lakh MT wheat and 1.5 lakh MT rice to ensure uninterrupted supply in all the revenue districts of Maharashtra and Goa.”
Shri Singh further said that “due to timely action taken by FCI, there was no disruption in supply chain management of foodgrains, no complaints received from people, media or state administration. Ample quantity of foodgrains were always made available in own or hired depots of FCI”.
Shri Singh further elaborated that FCI has been following all COVID-19 protocols like social distancing, wearing of masks in offices and depots, hand hygiene and frequent sanitization of premises, while handling foodgrain stocks.
The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi had on June 23rd approved the extension of PMGKAY scheme till November, in a bid to lessen the hardship faced by the poor due to economic disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The move is aimed at benefitting 80 crore people across the country, distributing 5 kg of wheat or rice per month. The move entails a financial implication of Rs. 67,266 crore. The additional free of cost allocation of food grains will be over and above the regular monthly food grains allocated for beneificiaries covered under NFSA.
The PMGKAY programme has won praise of the World Food Programme of the United Nations for ensuring food security for the poor during pandemic times. The WFP is reportedly keen on undertaking a case study of the scheme so that other emerging economies could benefit from its design and implementation.
For details of PMGKAY for the West Zone, comprising Maharashtra, Goa, Gujarat, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu, please see Food Corporation of India press release here.
Presentation on PMGKAY by FCI
Ministry of Health and Family Welfare
India’s Cumulative COVID-19 Vaccination Coverage exceeds 175.83 Cr
More than 35.50 lakh Vaccine Doses administered in the last 24 hours
Recovery Rate currently stands at 98.38%
13,405 New Cases reported in the last 24 hours
India's Active Caseload currently stands at 1,81,075
Weekly Positivity Rate is presently at 1.98%
With the administration of more than 35.50 lakh Doses  vaccine doses in the last 24 hours, India’s COVID-19 vaccination coverage has exceeded 175.83 Cr  as per provisional reports till 7 am today.
This has been achieved through 2,00,25,470 sessions. The break-up of the cumulative figure as per the provisional report till 7 am today include:
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Cumulative Vaccine Dose Coverage
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HCWs
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1st Dose
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1,04,00,867
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2nd Dose
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99,55,088
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Precaution Dose
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40,70,704
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FLWs
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1st Dose
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1,84,08,181
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2nd Dose
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1,74,22,097
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Precaution Dose
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59,48,361
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Age Group 15-18 years
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1st Dose
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5,38,88,975
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2nd Dose
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2,28,28,488
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Age Group 18-44 years
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1st Dose
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55,06,26,127
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2nd Dose
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43,73,36,329
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Age Group 45-59 years
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1st Dose
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20,20,82,455
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2nd Dose
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17,86,67,750
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Over 60 years
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1st Dose
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12,62,49,050
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2nd Dose
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11,13,00,615
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Precaution Dose
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91,42,354
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Precaution Dose
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1,91,61,419
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Total
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1,75,83,27,441
34,226 patients have recovered in the last 24 hours and the cumulative tally of recovered patients  is now at 4,21,58,510.
Consequently, India’s recovery rate stands at 98.38%.
13,405 new cases were reported in the last 24 hours.
India’s Active Caseload is presently at 1,81,075. Active cases constitute 0.42% of the country's total Positive Cases.
The testing capacity across the country continues to be expanded. The last 24 hours saw a total of 10,84,247 tests being conducted. India has so far conducted over 76.12 Cr  cumulative tests.
While testing capacity has been enhanced across the country, Weekly Positivity Rate in the country currently stands at 1.98% and the Daily Positivity rate is reported to be 1.24%.
Ministry of Textiles
Textiles Minister Inaugurates State of Art Gallery at National Crafts Museum
Union Minister of Textiles and Women and Child Development, Smriti Zubin Irani, inaugurated Textiles Gallery at National Crafts Museum in New Delhi, today.
With this unique collection, the National Crafts Museum takes another leap to exhibit the fine Indian Craftsmanship to public. The other galleries of the museum i.e. Folk and Tribal Art, Cultic and Courtly Craft galleries have remained very famous amongst the visitors especially the foreign tourists.The village complex with huts from different states provides for the sense to rural India.
The rich collection on display will be another step towards conserving India’s rich heritage of handlooms for the next generations. The gallery will serve to be a resource centre for the students of fashion technology, apparel sciences and textiles designing. Ithas been curated with a unique design in which the master pieces of traditional handlooms are juxtaposed with modern audio-visual effects. The visitors will be able to feel the ethnicity with a soft touch of technology.
The collection has a vision to help people explore, enjoy, and rediscover the world of Indian textiles through design and technology. The Gallery consists of more than 230 different types oftextiles collections divided into categories of over more than 30 traditions.
The concept of display has been based on three categories:
Pre Loom “Ikat”, where the design is already visualized and transferred to the yarn before the yarn is placed on the loom.
On- Loom, the design is entered on the loom while weaving brocade, muslin, jamdani, weaved shawls, weaved sarees.
Post Loom, the techniques that can be done on cloth after it is woven-block printing, embroidery and kalamkaricomes in this category.
There are five zones in the gallery and each zone has been named as weaving,embroidery, dying , pattern  and TanaBana based on the intricacies of the textiles.
Ministry of Civil Aviation
Cabinet approves dispensation to Alliance Air for enabling commencement of International flights between India and Sri Lanka
The Union Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, has granted ex-post facto dispensation to M/s. Alliance Air, a 100% subsidiary of Air India, to fly on international sectors between India and Sri Lanka. A special dispensation is allowed for the interim period till M/s. Alliance Air deploys minimum of 20 Aircraft or 20% of total capacity, whichever is higher for domestic operations.
India has close bilateral ties with Sri Lanka and our interest is to increase connectivity and to expand people to people contacts between the two countries. Prior to this approval there was no commercial operation scheduled from Palaly and Batticaloa airports.
Ministry of Finance
Exchange Rate Notification No.18/2022 - Customs 
In exercise of the powers conferred by section 14 of the Customs Act, 1962 , and in supersession of the Notification No.13/2022-Customs, dated 3rd March, 2022 except as respects things done or omitted to be done before such supersession, the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs hereby determines that the rate of exchange of conversion of each of the foreign currencies specified in column  of each of Schedule I and Schedule II annexed hereto, into Indian currency or vice versa, shall, with effect from 18th March, 2022, be the rate mentioned against it in the corresponding entry in column  thereof, for the purpose of the said section, relating to imported and export goods.
SCHEDULE-I
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Sl.
No.
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Foreign Currency
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Rate of exchange of one unit of foreign currency equivalent to Indian rupees
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|
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|
|

|
|

|
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|
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|
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1.
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Australian Dollar
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56.85
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54.50
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2.
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Bahraini Dinar
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208.15
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195.50
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3.
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Canadian Dollar
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61.05
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58.95
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4.
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Chinese Yuan
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12.15
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11.80
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5.
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Danish Kroner
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11.45
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11.10
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6.
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EURO
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85.45
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82.40
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7.
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Hong Kong Dollar
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9.90
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9.55
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8.
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Kuwaiti Dinar
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258.50
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242.20
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9.
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New Zealand Dollar
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53.40
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51.05
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10.
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Norwegian Kroner
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8.70
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8.40
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11.
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Pound Sterling
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101.70
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98.25
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12.
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Qatari Riyal
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21.55
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20.10
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13.
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Saudi Arabian Riyal
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20.90
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19.65
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14.
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Singapore Dollar
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56.95
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55.10
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15.
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South African Rand
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5.25
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4.95
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16.
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Swedish Kroner
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8.20
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7.90
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17.
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Swiss Franc
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82.50
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79.30
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18.
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Turkish Lira
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5.35
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5.05
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19.
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UAE Dirham
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|
21.35
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20.05
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20.
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US Dollar
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76.90
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75.20
SCHEDULE-II
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Sl.
No.
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Foreign Currency
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Rate of exchange of 100 units of foreign currency equivalent to Indian rupees
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1.
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Japanese Yen
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65.20
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62.90
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2.
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Korean Won
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6.45
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6.05
Ministry of Railways
Co-Branding of Railway Stations
The concept of co-branding of Railway stations entails generation of non-fare revenue by allowing Government and private business entities  to prefix or suffix their brand names or logos to the names of Railway stations. For all purposes, the concept is purely a form of advertisement only, and does not tantamount to change in the name of the Railway station.
Co-branding rights have been awarded only at eleven metro stations in Kolkata Metro under the policy guideline of Metro Railway, Kolkata. No stations on Indian Railway have been awarded for co-branding.
This information was given by the Minister of Railways, Communications and Electronic & Information Technology, Shri Ashwini Vaishnaw in a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha today.
Ministry of Defence
Statement by Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh after bilateral talks with US Defence Secretary Mr Lloyd J Austin
Excellency Secretary Austin,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
It is a great honour and pleasure to receive US Secretary of Defence Mr Austin in his first official visit abroad and to India. I spoke with Secretary Austin immediately after he assumed charged. We had an excellent conversation during which I invited him to visit India at his earliest convenience. His visit to India despite the COVID-19 global pandemic, shows the abiding commitment of the United States to our bilateral relationship.
I am happy to inform that we had a comprehensive and fruitful discussion with Secretary Austin and his delegation. We are keen to work together to realise the full potential of the India-US Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership.
Our discussions today focussed on our wide ranging defence cooperation and expanding military-to-military engagement across services, information sharing, cooperation in emerging sectors of defence, and mutual logistics support.
We reviewed the wide gamut of bilateral and multilateral exercises and agreed to pursue enhanced cooperation with the US Indo-Pacific Command, Central Command and Africa Command. Acknowledging that we have in place the foundational agreements, LEMOA, COMCASA and BECA, we discussed steps to be taken to realise their full potential for mutual benefit.
I conveyed my appreciation to Secretary Austin for participation of US in Aero India 2021 along with a business delegation. I invited US industry to take advantage of India’s liberalized foreign direct investment  policies in the defence sector. We both agreed that there are opportunities for collaboration in defence industry.
The recent Leaders’ Summit of India, USA, Japan and Australia under the Quad framework emphasized our resolve to maintain a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific region. We discussed the need for enhanced capacity building to address some of the non-traditional challenges such as oil spills and environment disasters, drug trafficking, Illegal, Unreported, Unregulated  fishing, etc.
India is committed to further consolidate our robust defence partnership with the United States. I look forward to working with you closely to make the India-US relationship one of the defining partnerships of 21st century.
Thank you.
Prime Minister's Office
Prime Minister’s meeting with the President of the Senate of France
Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi met H.E. Mr. Gerard Larcher, President of French Senate, on 13 July 2023.
Prime Minister Modi highlighted the significance of our shared values of ‘Democracy, Freedom and Equality’, forming the foundation ethos of India-France partnership.
The discussions focused on wide range of areas including India's G20 priorities, democratic values in technology usage and cooperation between the two Upper Houses. Regional and global issues of mutual interest were also discussed.
Ministry of Finance
DRI and Customs seize 10,230 kg of Red Sanders , with estimated worth of Rs 6 crore, at ICD Palwal, Haryana
In line with its commitment to preserve the natural resources of the nation, in yet another successful operation on 16.09.2022, Directorate of Revenue Intelligence  has recovered 10.23 MT of Red Sanders, estimated at Rs 6 crore in the international market, from an export consignment that was destined for Singapore.
Intelligence developed by DRI indicated that red sanders logs, concealed in an export consignment declared to contain “static convertor/rectifier and wire harness cable”, were in the process of being smuggled out of the country. Based on the said intelligence, the officers of DRI intercepted an export bound container at ICD Palwal, which was also put on hold by the ICD Palwal Customs officers, having been informed as suspicious by the Custodian of the said ICD.
Examination of the said container by the DRI officers, along with the customs officers of ICD Palwal, led to the recovery of 10.23 MT of red sanders - an item mentioned in the Appendix II of CITES . The export of red sanders from India is prohibited/restricted, as per the Foreign Trade Policy.
The said container was in the process of being exported using fake documents of a Noida SEZ based entity, following a similar Modus Operandi busted by DRI earlier. Preliminary enquiry by the DRI has revealed that the documents used for the said export are fake and manipulated. Even the registration number of the truck, used for transport of the said container to the ICD Palwal, is manipulated. The recovered 10.23 MT of red sanders logs, valued at Rs 6 crore , along with the truck have been seized under the Customs Act, 1962. Further investigations are in progress.
DRI has made seizure of 110.26 MT of red sanders in eleven instances at different ICDs/ports, since November 2021. DRI remains committed to continue its relentless crackdown against those attempting to compromise the economic frontiers of India and misappropriating her rich natural heritage.
Ministry of Labour & Employment
EPFO Pensioners to Get Enhanced Pension
EPFO released Rs 868 crore pension along with Rs 105 crore arrear on account of restoration of commuted value of pension.
On the recommendation of Central Board of Trustees , the Government of India accepted one of the long standing demands of workers to allow restoration of commuted value of pension after 15 years. Earlier there was no provision for restoration of commuted pension and the pensioners continued to receive reduced pension on account of commutation lifelong.This is a historical step for the benefit of pensioners under EPS-95.
EPFO has more than 65 lakhs pensioners catered through its 135 regional offices. EPFO officers and staff battled all odds during this Covid-19 lockdown period and processed pension payment for May,2020 to ensure credit of pension in the bank account of pensioners on schedule.
Ministry of Home Affairs
MHA to States/UTs: Ensure Migrant Workers do not have to walk back home, and perform the journey only in buses & ‘Shramik’ Special Trains being run by the Government specifically for this purpose
Union Ministry of Home Affairs , on 11.05.2020, wrote to all States/UTs to facilitate faster movement of stranded migrant workers to their native places, through buses and 'Shramik' special trains being run by the Government specifically for this purpose.
The communication highlighted the situation wherein migrant workers are walking on the roads and on railway tracks. All States/UTs were advised that in case they are found in such condition, they should be appropriately counselled, taken to nearby shelters and provided with food, water, etc. till they are facilitated to board the 'Shramik' special trains or buses to their native places.
However, instances of migrant workers walking on roads, railway tracks and travelling in trucks are still being reported from different parts of the country. In view of this, MHA has again written to all States/UTs to ensure that these migrant workers do not have to walk back home.
The communication states that Ministry of Railways is running more than 100 'Shramik' special trains per day and is ready to arrange additional trains, as per requirement. People need to be made aware about these arrangements and counselled by State/UT governments to not travel on foot, when they can travel in buses/trains being specially run by the government to facilitate their journey.
Click here to see the Official Communication to the States/UTs
Ministry of Defence
Second General K Sundarji Memorial Lecture
The 2nd Gen K Sundarji memorial lecture was conducted on 27 Apr 2019 at Manekshaw Centre, New Delhi. Gen Bipin Rawat, Chief of the Army Staff, graced the occasion as Chief Guest. The event was attended by serving and retired officers of the three Services as well as members of academia and think tanks. The lecture started by commemorating the dynamic and visionary General K Sundarji, the 14th Chief of the Army Staff, who is also fondly called as the ‘Father of the Mechanised Infantry Regiment’.
Gen K Sundarji had during his tenure from 1986 to 1988, introduced a number of technical and operational initiatives for the Indian Army. Post his conceptualisation of the Mechanised Forces, Gen Sundarji went on to raise the Mechanised Infantry Regiment. With emphasis on speed, technology and mobile weaponry, the youngest arm of the Indian Army is now an integral part of the strike forces.
The Memorial lecture commenced with a welcome note by Lt Gen PC Thimmaya, which was followed by Gen Bipin Rawat, Chief of the Army Staff delivering the keynote address. Shri Navtej Sarna delivered a talk on "Leading India in the 21st Century : Strategic Leadership incorporating Diplomatic, Information, Military and Economic  Aspects" followed by Lt Gen PM Hariz, PVSM, AVSM, SM, VSM  who articulated on the topic "From Brasstacks to Doklam : Exigent need for wisdom and vision in our strategic military leadership".
Lt Col Mohit Vaishnava
for PRO 
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